Links for September 2025

Links for September 2025

https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/best-states-for-taxes?ccsource=em_NB_1058859_FIDBITS_0225_20250314103051_T102040102_SFID_653293

https://fortune.com/2025/01/30/job-hunt-candidates-applying-a-year-ghosting/

No matter what the official reports from the BLS say, there's a whole lot of people with experiences like this. In fact, a number of years ago, I even experienced ghosting on my job search. The government can say that there are thousands of new jobs, but I'm not so sure...

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChubbyFIRE/comments/1f2vq2w/40_with_an_85m_net_worth_and_a_burntout_soul_but/?rdt=52881

Interesting conundrum. Maybe a candidate for retiring to "consulting" work, or a "job" related to a hobby, or something similar. 

https://ofdollarsanddata.com/proof-of-work/

Great point about crypto, tech, and bubbles in general!

https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/06/the-evolution-of-financial-advice/

https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/2025071592/my-grandmother-disinherited-my-father-yet-made-him-executor-of-her-will-now-he-refuses-to-file-for-probate

CEO pay actually declined a little bit from 2022 to 2023! https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2023/

...or did it? https://news.gsu.edu/2025/06/19/study-reveals-companies-may-be-massaging-ceo-pay-ratios-without-changing-actual-pay/

Yep, sounds about right. CEOs are the new kings. 

How to fix this? A couple videos with interesting suggestions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66ZV1ualw48 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k6czLUdJPI

Is Corporate Loyalty Dead?

Is Corporate Loyalty Dead?

AT&T CEO John Stankey's latest memo has generated quite a bit of discussion online.

Since I'm sure everybody has been sitting on pins and needles, waiting with bated breath for my take, here it is. Fashionably late, as always 🤣

You can read the memo on Business Insider, along with some...err, "highlights" they've picked out. Here's the link: https://www.businessinsider.com/att-ceo-john-stankey-email-employee-feedback-survey-rto-policy-2025-8

There's been quite a bit of discussion about whether this memo is a sign of the death of corporate loyalty.

Unfortunately, from what I've learned over the years, I believe that any corporate loyalty that may have existed already died. In fact, it was on life support way back when my father was younger than I am today.

My father is now retired.

Student Loans Aren't the Real Issue

 Student Loan Forgiveness is Not the Issue

Today, student loan forgiveness is a political hot-button topic. Wade into the morass of comments on articles like this one if you don't believe me.

But that’s not the actual issue. Student loans aren’t the root cause of the economic malaise in which many young people are ensnared.

Rather, student loans are a symptom.

So what is the core issue, then?

The Perversion of Capitalism

“If you had hard times in your family, would you ever consider laying off one of your children?”

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe